new nuclear: Government desperate to avoid C word

The Government today announced that an agreement has been reached for construction of new nuclear at Hinckley Point in Somerset.

The big sticking point had been the strike price (guaranteed buy price for generated electricity), which has ended up at whopping 9.2p/kWh, or 8.9p if the developers also build another plant at Sizewell C.

The most telling aspect of the press release is DECC’s reluctance to mention all the investors. They can bring themselves to name EdF, the biggest part of the investor consortium. EdF have such a strong UK brand that we’ve all forgotten they’re French.

But only buried at the bottom of the press release does it mention that a Chinese company is likely to be EdF’s partner on the project.

Instead they insist on referring to the project as “Home Grown Energy.” Which is awesome doublespeak. The plant will be owned by France and China. The fuel (which will be mined, obviously, not grown) will come from Kazakhstan, Australia, Canada or Namibia.